Sketches
by detective-sweetheart
Summary: That book has been on her desk ever since I can remember...but I never knew what was in it until now...


That little book has been on her desk ever since I can remember. No one knows what's in it. No one ever has. Not even her partner. Every now and then, when things are fairly calm in the squad room, she'll puck up whatever writing implement is close by and start working in it. But she'll never tell any of us what she's doing. So even though we should be doing our paperwork, we watch her, intrigued.

Now is one of those times. The only difference is that it's only the two of us in the squad room. The case we'd been assigned is closed and Elliot and Fin have taken on the one that just came in. Paperwork sits abandoned on three desks out of four. I should be finishing mine, but what I'm doing is ignoring it and staring off into space. And she…she's doing whatever she's doing in that little book of hers, and it isn't long before I find myself watching her, yet again.

She notices and eyes me over the upper edges of the book. "Paperwork's not gonna do itself, Munch," she says.

"I noticed," I say, "Pen's not exactly moving across the paper, is it?"

She laughs. "Don't you wish?" she asks. I look at her over my glasses.

"I do," I tell her, "What happened to all of yours?" She shrugs.

"I got it done," she replies, not looking up from her book. "I tend not to let mine get to the point where it's backed up by a few months."

"Aren't you dedicated?" I ask, and she looks up at me, smirking.

"More than you can say for yourself," she tells me. "How many months have you got?"

"Just one," I answer. "I'm not really one to leave it sitting, either."

She offers up a faint smile and a derisive snort at this, and I know that she sees right through that last comment: if anyone tends to put off their paperwork, it's me. Silence falls again as I turn to my desk and pick up the pen that's fallen to its surface. But something keeps me from putting it to the paper. And that something is her and that book. She's still working in it, oblivious to everything around her, and sighing resignedly, I let the pen fall and lean back in my chair.

"Liv," I say, "What exactly is in that book of yours?" She looks up and lets the pencil in her hand fall to her desk.

"What?" she asks.

"You heard me," I reply. "I asked what's in that book of yours."

I don't expect her to blush, but she does, and picking up the pencil again, she twirls it between her fingers, avoiding my gaze.

"Do you really want to know?" she asks.

"Actually, yes," I answer. "It's been bothering me for a while."

She laughs. "Don't worry," she says. "It's not some government conspiracy to spy on you."

I give her a look. "I am not that paranoid." She shakes her head.

"I know," she says. "Come here, and I'll let you see what's in it."

For some reason, I hesitate at moving to see it. It seems almost as if she is letting me see a different side of her…one that I doubt she wants anyone to know exists. And now I'm not sure I want to see. But curiosity gets the best of me and I walk over to where she is.

"They're not any good," she warns, lying the book on her desk and opening it to the beginning. I look down and blink, unable to believe what I'm seeing.

"Told you," she says. I look over at her, still startled.

"How long?" I ask. She looks down at the first two drawings and blushes again.

"Couple of months," she admits. "It…ah…it makes things go away at night."

I sit on the edge of her desk and pick the book up, thumbing through it slowly. I'm not surprised to see that I'm not the only one in here, but I am surprised that she's managed to keep this quiet for so long.

"I don't know where you get the impression that these aren't any good, Liv," I remark finally. "They're wonderful." I hand her the book and she takes it, stowing it away in her top desk drawer as I go back to sit at my own desk.

"Hey, Munch," she says, and I turn to look at her as she goes on. "Don't…don't tell the other guys, all right?"

A wry smile crosses my face at this request, but I nod. "Don't worry," I say, "Your secret is safe with me."

She eyes me for a moment, as if trying to figure out whether I'm being sarcastic or not. A few seconds pass before she decides I'm serious, and she moves to retrieve the book, but before she can get it, the other two come back, just in time to see her look at me again.

"Are we missing something?" Elliot asks, but she shakes her head, pushing the drawer closed before he sees the book. Fin look in my direction for an explanation, but I shrug, and turn back to my paperwork.

Sure, Liv's sketches are wonderful…but until she's ready, they'll remain a secret…one that only the two of us know.

A/N: so, yeah...I'm not exactly sure what you people know, but I'm pretty sure that you all know SVU's not mine and never will be, so I'll just leave you all alone now..


End file.
